“Hug the tar baby” Tony? I mean, seriously, “hug the tar baby”????
Well, our new White House Press Secretary, Tony Snow made his podium debut yesterday… and fell flat on his face. Oh well, after all, it’s his first day at the podium, so we should take it easy on him. I just have one question for you Tony… WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU???
Here’s the context of the “tar baby” remark…
SNOW: If you go back and look through what he said, there was a reference of foreign to domestic calls. I am not going to stand up here and presume to declassify any kind of program. That is a decision the President has to make. I can't confirm or deny it. The President was not confirming or denying. Again, I would take you back to the USA Today story to give you a little context. Look at the poll that appeared the following day [...] something like 65% of the public was not troubled by it. Having said that, I don't want to hug the tar baby of trying to comment on the program... the alleged program, the existence of which I can neither confirm or deny.
Later on, Snow tried to justify his use of the phrase…
QUESTION: What are your personal goals? What do you hope to achieve here? Will you continue to televise these briefings? And would you put into English the phrase (OFF-MIKE) 'the tar baby'?
SNOW: Well, I believe 'hug the tar baby', we could trace that back to American lore.
American lore?? What, the “lore” of the KKK? Do you have any idea whatsoever Mr. Snow, how offensive that term is to most people? Or at least most reasonable people. You would think that you, as the public face of this administration, would choose your words more carefully. I mean really, didn’t they teach you ANYTHING at Fake Journalism School?
Here’s a bit of advice Tony… Go back to Faux News, where you’ll be free to fire off biased and racist propaganda without the cumbersome restrictions of journalistic integrity. This administration can drop the ball quite easily on it’s own, it doesn’t need your assistance. Trust me Tony, you’re not doing Uncle Dubya any favors by being behind the podium.
posted by Marlipern @ 11:06 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Do some research. The "Tar Baby" statement was not used as a racist remark or a mark of bigotry. It's an old phrase used to reference "a sticky situation". Read Br'er Rabbit some day.
The phrase stems from African folklore.
Dear Anonymous,
Yes, I'm aware of that reference as well, but as I said, this guy is the public face of this administration. He needs to choose his words more carefully. If he's unaware of the more broad connotations of the colloquialisms that he chooses to use, then perhaps he's the wrong man for the job.
And if you are unaware of the broader implications of that phrase, I suggest YOU do some research.
Having said that, I'd like to also point out that Tony Snow is neither a stupid individual, nor an unlearned one. I find it hard to believe that he was unaware of the broader connotations of the phrase. So it begs the question, did he actually choose to say that WITH THE KNOWLEDGE of how it would be viewed by many people? And if so, did he care?
Think about that while you're chugging your neocon-supplied kool-aid. And while you're at it, think about why you chose to post anonymously.
Most people who truly have the courage of their convictions are willing to stand up and state, "yep, that was me who said that." So what does that say about you?
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